Priority mail (A-Mail) inside Switzerland will be 10 centimes more expensive to send while the price of standard letters (B-Mail) will go up by 5 centimes, Swiss Post announced on Thursday.
The price of parcels will remain unchanged, as a gesture of support for businesses that have struggled because of closures and other restrictions introduced to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the state-owned company said.
CEO Roberto Cirillo said the price hikes would ensure the long-term financing of basic postal services. He also explained that costs have risen significantly in the last 18 years: in addition to wage increases, there has been a growth in the number of households and therefore the number of private letterboxes in Switzerland to which a shrinking number of letters have to be delivered.
The new Swiss stamp prices will still be among the lowest in Europe, when adjusted for purchasing power.
Growing profits
The announcement came as Swiss Post saw profits for the first half of 2021 increase by CHF217 million ($237 million) over the previous year. This result was largely thanks to a growth in parcel delivery spurred by a continuing boom in online shopping. Because of Covid-19 measures, consumers have increasingly placed orders online and had products delivered to their home by post.
The company delivered 105 million parcels in the first six months of the year, compared to just over 90 million in the same period in 2020. The volume of newspapers and advertising sent by mail also increased, as did international mail. There was only a small decline (-0.9%) in posted letters.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
The citizenship obstacle course facing spouses of Swiss Abroad
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Swiss commodities trader Glencore faces $1.6bn loss
This content was published on
According to preliminary figures, Swiss commodities trader and mining group Glencore slipped into the red with a $1.6 billion loss in 2024.
Diplomat murder case: defendant to appeal rape conviction
This content was published on
A man acquitted of murdering an Egyptian diplomat in Geneva in 1995, will appeal his conviction for other offences, including rape.
This content was published on
Off-piste skiing accounts for 85% of fatal winter sports accidents, according to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention.
Swiss Senate committee wants to stop UNRWA funding
This content was published on
Switzerland should stop payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) immediately, according to a Senate committee.
This content was published on
Wind generated 160 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity across Switzerland last year, according to the Swiss Wind Energy Association (Suisse-Eole). It was a "good year but less exceptional than 2023", it said.
Online sales continue their Covid climb in Switzerland
This content was published on
Fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, online commerce in Switzerland has continued to grow steadily in the first six months of the year.
Swiss postal bank turns up digital dazzle to arrest declining fortunes
This content was published on
The financial arm of the Swiss post office is offering clients access to cryptocurrencies and the chance to buy fractions of company shares.
This content was published on
The controversial issue of e-voting is back: Swiss Post, which had halted the development of a project in July 2019, now plans a platform ready for testing by 2021.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.